


Once Upon A December

by TellHipHopImLiterate



Category: Original Work
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 12:23:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 16,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16810540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TellHipHopImLiterate/pseuds/TellHipHopImLiterate
Summary: Small snippets into the life of Sally and Noah, along with their friends and siblings.





	1. Nail Art

**Author's Note:**

> i am doing a december challenge and this is what i planned to do. hope yall like it!
> 
> today's prompt is hand

The kitchen smelled heavenly. Sally looked inside and saw Noah making lunch for himself. Sally stared at his hands and smirked. She shook the nail polish in her hand and slowly crept up to him.

"What do you want?" Noah asked her without even looking up.

She smiled widely and showed her four nail polishes in her hand. He stared at them, then stared at his partner, and then went right back to cooking.

"Please?" she begged.

"I'm cooking," he stated.

"It'll only take a few hours," she promised. "I'll even cook for you!"

"Why am I always your test subject with whatever nail art you found online?"

"Cause ya love me," she answered in a sing-song voice.

Noah muttered something under his breath, but Sally cheered when he finally agreed. He turned off the stove She jumped excitedly and followed Noah into the living room. She set the four nail polishes down and grabbed the picture she printed out to use as reference to paint. She sat down on the floor while Noah too k his seat on the couch.

"Can we at least turn the tv on? There's a show I wanna watch on Netflix," Noah requested.

Sally turned the tv on and switched it over to Netflix. She looked through their list and found the Great British Baking Show. She clicked on it and grabbed the base coat. She shook it a few times before she began to paint the base on his fingertips. She held one of his hands and carefully painted on the nail and made sure that it didn't touch his skin.

"How many seasons is that show in?" Sally asked.

"Six seasons. I've been meaning to watch it anyway," Noah said.

She could hear the show going on in the background behind her. She wasn't too interested in baking shows, but she'll watch it anyway for her partner. After she let the base coat dry, she grabbed the night nail polish and shook it a few times. She carefully began to paint his nails white.

After a few minutes of letting the white nail polish dry, she grabbed the green nail polish and began to draw trees.

"What is your nail art supposed to be?" she heard Noah ask.

"It's Christmas themed. It's gonna look super cute," Sally answered.

"You do know that I work tomorrow, so I need the nail polish remover once your done," Noah told her.

Sally glared at him. He looked down at her and sighed. "Fine, I'll keep it until it starts to chip."

"And you promise not to bite them?" Sally requested as she continued to paint the tree.

"I make no promises, but sure."

She accepted the answer. She finished the tree and one of the ornaments on his left pinky finger and began to get the red out. She looked at the nails one more time and began to start on some snowflakes on the index finger.

"That souffle is gonna fall," Noah muttered.

She didn't pay any attention as she finished the snowflakes. After a few more minutes, she started on the next color, which was gold. She shook it once and began to start on the tree first. She was glad that her partner's hands don't twitch whenever she put on nail polish or else this would have sucked.

"I'm hungry," he complained.

"I'm almost done," Sally stated.

She finished the large star for the middle finger and brought out the black paint. She outlined the snowman on the ring finger and smiled at her work. She waited for the paint to dry before she put on another coat so that it'll actually stay. She pulled the bowl of what was once iced water and placed Noah's hands in the bowl.

"Shit!" he cursed.

"Don't move," Sally warned.

She got up and began to finish up Noah's lunch. It was a simple sandwich that was starting to turn cold. She shrugged her shoulders and began to take it to the living room where Noah was still watching the Great British Baking Show. She placed the sandwich in front of him and began to feed him.

"Love you!" he said with food in his mouth.

Sally scrunched up her nose and ignored him. After what felt like hours, she brought his fingers out of the cold water. She inspected the nails and smiled proudly. They were cute!

"I hope the guys at work won't be too harsh on you for your nails," Sally teased.

"You kidding? My nails look cute as fuck! Those guys wish they had a partner that was this good at nail art," Noah complemented.

She smiled proudly and stared at his nails some more. They looked well done, despite his nails a little small and hard to use. He paused the show and turned off the tv.

"We need to get going anyway. You said we were gonna meet Vanessa and Lola for lunch?" Noah said.

Sally got up and went to put on her boots and coat. It was starting to get cooler in Los Angeles area. She curled up to him as the two left their warm home to meet with their best friend and wife for a movie.


	2. New Tattoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Grasp
> 
> Noah decides to get a tattoo that could probably not allow him to move for a bit: his ribs.

Noah sat on the reclining chair and lifted his shirt up. The left side of his body was exposed and ready for the ink to pierce through. Sally was sitting next to him, reading a book she brought with her. The tattoo parlor was one of Sally's favorites and the only place she ever got her tattoos at. He stared at her sleeve tattoo that had a watercolor of lions and lionesses dancing on her arm. It stopped just above her elbow, but it was still so beautiful that it was the one piece of artwork that he continuously traced.

"I'm feeling nervous," Noah admitted.

"You'll be fine," she said in a monotone voice.

Noah has never gotten a tattoo before. He was once dared when he was eighteen, but he never went through with it. He admired people who did have tattoos, but he never knew what he wanted or if he'll change his mind about it. His partner didn't seem too bothered with getting a needle being jabbed into her arm multiple times. He stared at his exposed skin where his ribcage is and thought about it. Would it hurt? He saw Sally's gorgeous tattoo of a peach blossom tree in full bloom looked and he thought that it would be nice if he got something.

"Hey, babe?" Noah called out.

She hummed out in response without looking up from her book. It usually meant that she was listening to him while also trying to focus on reading. He was still surprised that she could be able to do that.

"Does getting a rib tattoo hurt?" he asked her.

"Depends on what style you're doing and how big the tattoo is," she answered. "Mine hurt like a bitch, but I still wouldn't place it anywhere else."

Noah had to think on his design. Soon, the tattoo artist came in and sat down in front of his exposed left body.

"You sure you want a tattoo on your ribs? It's gonna hurt," the tattoo artist asked. Now Noah was hesitating, but he still wanted that tattoo anyway.

"The tattoo isn't that big and it looks simple. I'm sure that I want my tattoo on my ribs," Noah assured him.

The tattoo artist only shrugged his shoulders and began to put on his gloves. He placed the piece of paper that Noah wanted on his body down and began to get to work.

And wow was he in a lot of pain. He grabbed hold of the chair and gritted his teeth not to howl in pain. He closed his eyes shut and waited for the pain to stop. He cracked his eyes open and saw Sally holding her hand out. He grasped her hand and held tight. After what felt like hours, the sound of the needle buzzing finally stopped. He attempted to look down at his new tattoo, but it hurt to move the left side of his body.

"Sally knows the most about aftercare, so she'll be the one to help you out," the tattoo artist began to explain as he began to put a thin piece of plastic over the tattoo. "I would suggest removing the film for about four hours and then you can change it later so that there isn't any ink bleeding on your bed. No exercising for one week, and now heavy exercising for two weeks. No scented lotions or perfumes."

"And I'll make sure he doesn't pick at it," he heard Sally promise.

Noah knew the tattoo aftercare pretty well. His partner usually gets a new tattoo whenever she gets a bonus from work. Her more recent one – a tattoo of a phoenix on her right forearm – and remembered how cool the colors turned out. He wished he could be brave enough to get a tattoo on his body, but was scared of needles. Now he knows that it's not so bad getting a tattoo.

After paying for the tattoo and Sally giving him a tip, the two made their way back to the car and sat down. Noah was still feeling a little bit of pain, but his tattoo of a wolf's head was going to look so cool once it healed. He stared at the picture he used and smiled. It was a wolf's head, but in a minimalistic style. On one half the head was fully outline, while the other actually had the face of the wolf itself. He felt the care move and he stared at the road ahead as Sally was beginning to drive home.

"I would suggest going to sleep. You just got a painful tattoo and it's a little bit overwhelming at first. Don' pick or scratch at the tattoo, even if it's scabbing. It's best to let it heal on its own," Sally suggested.

"Yes, love," Noah answered.

He gently kissed her cheek in response and laughed when she wiped away his kiss. He needed to remind himself to bake her something sweet for suggesting the tattoo parlor and giving him a discount because Sally is like family at that parlor.

"Do you think I can get my ears pierced?" Noah asked.

"We'll stick with tattoos for now," was Sally's answer.


	3. Christmas Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The holidays are fast approaching and Sally wants to make sure that at least her own tree looks stunning.
> 
> Prompt: shopping

Twas the night just a few weeks before Christmas and all things scurrying. Actually, Sally got Noah to look at some Christmas trees to decorate her house with. She loved the smell of trees in the morning. It was too bad they can't be around all year long. She wanted a petite tree. She looked around the trees and she didn't find one she liked.

"Babe!" she heard Noah call out.

She turned her attention to where Noah was and saw a gorgeous small douglas fir tree. She squealed and smiled at the tree in front of her. It was perfect. It was cute and it was everything she wanted. She could imagine herself putting cute decorations for the tree. Which reminded her, she needed decorations for the house and the tree.

"Let's see if we can get the guys to remove maybe an inch off the trunk?" Sally suggested.

"We can get rid of some branches, too. Then we can go into the store and find some Christmas lights, ornaments, and decorations," Noah offered.

She hugged him tightly and kissed him hard on the mouth. She smiled up at him and grinned.

"Love you, too, now help me with the tree," he said.

Sally did and brought the tree over to where the cutting area was. She liked going in the morning. There were hardly any people and it was nice to get in, buy her shit, and then leave.

"Good morning! Anything done with the tree?" one of the workers asked.

Noah looked over at Sally and she said, "Can you maybe cut an inch off the trunk? And maybe get some branches out of the way, too?"

"Sure! And what's your name?" he asked.

"Sally."

The worker wrote her name on the plastic slip and handed half a slip over to her. She accepted the small half and watched as the tree was being taken over to the cutting area.

"Let's go see if they have the decorations you like. Did you want a tree stand or…?" Noah asked.

Sally walked over to where the tree stands were and took whatever was the smallest. She followed Noah out of the tree lot and went inside the store to find some cute holiday decorations. He already grabbed a cart and she placed the tree stand and tag in the cart. The two walked over to where the seasonal decorations were and began to browse through their selections. Sally already grabbed some pretty Christmas lights for the tree and placed two in the cart. Noah decided on some pastel lights for the outside of their home and grabbed about three boxes.

"Do you like the ornaments here?" Noah asked her.

Sally looked at the selection of ornaments. She was torn between two ornament sets. They looked gorgeous and the colors popped out a lot. She chewed on her thumbnail and stared at both.

"Noah?" she called out.

She held both out for him to look at. He stared at both of them, his eyes dancing back and forth between the two. He grabbed the one with the Santa ornament and placed that one in the cart.

"It has more color and you like color," Noah reasoned.

Sally thought about it and nodded her head. She placed the one with the polar bears, a snowman, and an igloo away. She grabbed the hooks and placed them in the cart.

"Wanna pick out the star?" Sally asked.

"Why? I usually go with whatever you pick anyway," Noah answered.

Sally said nothing as she stared at each tree topper with interest. Finally, she spotted one that grabbed her interest. It was a four-pointed star with two other four-pointed stars on top of one another in the middle. She grabbed the box and stared at what was inside. Apparently, it had a large clip that would grasp onto the top of the tree. She liked the star. It was gorgeous.

"This one," she stated as she placed the star inside the cart.

"Is that it?" he questioned.

She looked around the seasonal decorations area. She grabbed a tree skirt, but that was pretty much it. She nodded her head. The two made their way down the store and made their way towards the checkout area. She pulled him towards where the cashier was instead of self-checkout.

"well, this is gonna be a fun activity to do at home," he muttered.

"Hush," she warned.

Noah only laughed and kissed her temple affectionately. They were next in line and waited for the items to be scanned. Noah and Sally had a small fight over who should pay, until she decided to split the bill. She paid half and he only paid the rest. She gathered her things and placed them in her own bag that she brought with her.

"Thanks, have a good day!" one of the cashiers greeted.

"Thank you! Happy holidays," Sally greeted in return.

The two made their way back to their car and loaded their things into Sally's car. After they were done, they brought her car over to the tree lot and picked up their own tree and placed it on top. After they were done tightening the tree on top, Sally began to drive their way home. Now it was time for the fun part: decorating their first Christmas tree living together. It was gonna be great. She hoped, at least.


	4. When We Met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Risk
> 
> Noah still remembers the day he met Sally. It was too bad that Sally wasn't the girl he had his eye on when he walked into the library that day.

When Noah first entered the library with his older sister, Diana, he didn't really think much of it. It was a nice library, with open doors and spacious areas. There were tables and computers all over the room, with bookcases stacked with various books. When he turned his attention to the front desk where the librarians were helping patrons checking out their books, he saw the most beautiful girl he ever saw. She was gorgeous, with silky blonde hair, gray eyes, and pale skin. He wanted to talk to her, but didn't know how.

"Who is that?" Noah asked his sister.

Diana knew every librarian in the local library. She talked to them because she liked conversing with them. She looked over where Noah pointed out and let out a noise of disgust.

"Her name's Emily. I would steer clear of her. She's known to be vicious and downright mean," Diana explained.

Noah looked at Emily again. She didn't look mean. She looked almost pleasant. She was smiling at the kids that were checking out the books and making light conversation with the parents. He wanted to check out a book just so he could talk to her.

"You need better taste in people," Diana stated.

He ignored her and began to make his way towards the fantasy section. If he wanted to do this, he needed to do this right. He grabbed a book that was on his reading list and made his way towards the front desk. He looked inside his wallet and forgot that he doesn't have a library card. This was bad.

"Can I help you?" a sweet voice asked.

Noah looked up and saw Emily beckoning him over. He stepped up to her and could feel his cheeks beginning to burn.

"I-I don't have a library card," he admitted.

"That's okay! We have a signup sheet on the other side and if you need any help, I'll come by and help you," Emily said.

Noah nodded his head. He walked on the other side and saw a computer with a signup form already placed. He took out his driver's license and began to input his own information. He looked up and saw Emily talking to another librarian. He could hear her laughter and noted how pretty it sounded. He shook his head and continued to put down his information. He looked up one more time and spotted an older female leading another a more younger girl around the library. She looked about his age, with brown silky hair, tanned skin, and dark brown eyes. She looked pretty, he'll have to admit. He hit finished and waited. The older woman walked over to where he was and smiled politely.

"Some people don't have library cards. It's fairly common, but it's best if you lead them to the signup desk. Emily is usually in charge of that, but she's a bit… busy," the woman explained.

Noah looked back at Emily, who was still talking to another librarian. There was a line that was starting, but the two librarians didn't seem concerned.

"Please don't be like Emily. Such a pretty face, but poor work habits," the woman said.

The younger woman only nodded her head. She looked almost nervous. The older woman finally picked up the library card that Noah signed up for. He accepted it and began to get back in line to check out the book. Diana was already in line and looked about as impatient than she normally is. Finally, the line started to move. Emily and the new librarian were busy checking people out. When it got to him, he was hoping that Emily would be free and he could go to her.

"I can help the next guest!" a new voice called out.

It was the new librarian. He wanted to curse at himself, but kept it inside. He placed the book on top of the counter and his new library card on top. She scanned the card first, and then the book.

" _A Darker Shade of Magic_?" she questioned.

Noah said nothing. He only nodded his head.

"I read this book a few times. You're gonna love it," she assured him.

She stuck the receipt paper in his book and gave it to him. Noah accepted it and began to leave the library. He casted one last lingering glance at Emily until Diana dragged him out of the library. He was setting up a plan. A plan that he hoped might work.

\-----

His plan was becoming a huge and gigantic fail. He would try to check out with Emily, but she would laugh at his choices or won't say anything. During the three weeks he tried to get her attention, his affection for him was slowly dwindling down. However, the new librarian, Sally, seemed super sweet. She would talk to him about the book he was checking out and the books he already checked out.

He made one final ditch effort to impress Emily and see if his affections for her might soon grow. He walked into the library and saw that it was only Sally and the older librarian that he still didn't know the name of. Emily and her friend are nowhere in sight. He placed his books in the return slot and walked towards the shelves to get a new book. Noah wondered if he would see Emily soon.

After getting whatever book he wanted, he walked over to the front desk and placed the book in front of Sally. She looked up and smiled politely at him.

"Did you find everything okay?" she asked him.

Noah noticed the change in her tone. She didn't sound at all happy.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Just fine," she answered. "Although, I'm sure you'll be devastated to know that your girlfriend got another job."

Girlfriend? Emily?

"Emily is not my girlfriend," Noah assured her.

"I'm sure I'll believe that if you didn't constantly go to her whenever you needed to check out a book," she answered sarcastically.

Suddenly, he began to feel something in his chest. His heart was beating a little less normal than earlier. He used to get that when he saw Emily, but it slowly faded away when her personality began to show. He stared at Sally, who was busy scanning his books.

"Are you… jealous?" he asked.

"No!" she answered too quickly. The older librarian shushed her. He could see the blush beginning to form on her cheeks.

"You so are," Noah pointed out.

She ignored him, but he could see her blush getting redder.

"Just take the damn book and leave," she hissed.

Noah needed to do something. Quick. He grabbed her hand over the counter and stopped her. She stared at him as if finally seeing him for the first time.

"Wanna see a movie with me? Like a date?" Noah offered.

Sally stared at him and bit her lower lip. She looked like she was trying not to smile, but failing miserably.

"Sure. Can I pick the movie?" she requested.

Noah nodded his head. She grabbed the receipt paper from his book and wrote down her number. She placed it back in the book and waved goodbye to him. He was definitely texting her once he gets home to get more details. But first, he needed to head to work. Maybe finally he can be promoted from busboy to chef. But for now, he's happy that he even has a date. With the girl of his possible dreams.


	5. Spa Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Mask
> 
> It's a spa day and Noah already started without Sally.

Sally came home from work a lot later than she usually does. Someone called off from work and she had to be both the opener and the closer. She's thankful that her boss allowed her to have a split schedule instead of burning herself through both ends. She opened the door into their home and placed her scarf and keys next to the door. She took off her shoes and walked through the house.

"Sorry I'm late! One of our closing librarians called off and-"

Sally stared at what was in front of her. Noah was sitting on the couch, watching some movie on Netflix with a face mask on that she bought at Bath and Body Works. She stared at him for a few seconds, until she placed her hands on her hips.

"You stared our spa day without me?" Sally demanded.

"You were home late, and my skin was breaking out. I figured we would do another one right after," Noah explained.

"Just admit that you wanted that young Korean face that you kept seeing on the internet," Sally stated.

"Okay, but have you seen those fuckers? Why can't my face look that young and pretty?" Noah admitted.

"Because you're a thirty-two-year-old man with no need to look young because you now have a young partner?" Sally guessed.

She placed her purse down on top of the counter and placed her jacket inside the hall closet. She looked back at Noah, who was still pouting. The face mask made him look more hilarious. The pouting didn't really help.

"You're younger than me by like a year and a half," he reminded her.

Sally said nothing. She walked towards the fridge and grabbed the carton of ice cream. She opened it and saw there were still some left. She grabbed a spoon and walked over to the living room where Noah was taking off the face mask. He rubbed the excess product onto his face like the instructions said. She gave him a spoon as she began to look through her account on Netflix.

"I was watching something," Noah told her. He scooped a big piece of ice cream and placed it in his mouth.

"Cool. We're watching The Christmas Prince," she stated.

She heard Noah groaned and leaned back against the couch. "Again? We watched that movie five times yesterday," he complained.

"We watched your dumb movie about anima killing and how wrong it is," Sally pointed out.

Noah gasped. "You told me you liked Okja."

Sally patted his check affectionately and smiled innocently. "Only for you, babe. Only for you. Now bring me a face mask. You might need another one if you want to keep your Korean face looking youthful."

Noah said nothing as he brought over another face mask. They both tore it open, placed in on their face, and waited. Sally liked spa day. It was the only time where she and Noah would bicker about movies while staying hydrated and youthful at the same time. Self-care, as one would say. And it was the best self-care imaginable.

"By the way, we need more face masks," Noah reminded.

Sally will worry about that tomorrow.


	6. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Hold
> 
> Noah comes home and finds Sally hiding under the covers. His reaction is to crawl under the covers and holding her tight.

The first thing Noah noticed when he entered the house was that it was quiet. Sally hated quiet. She grew up with eight brothers and sisters. She's used to noise, so it was strange to hear the house so quiet. Her car was parked out in the drive way, so he wondered if she went somewhere with her friends. He took off his shoes and made his way to their shared room when he saw a lump on the bed. He stared at the lump and gently poked at it. It stirred slightly, but he couldn't see the head. He walked over to his side of the bed and saw Sally curled up against the covers.

"You okay?" he asked her.

Sally cracked her eyes open and stared up at him. She only nodded her head, but she buried herself deeper into the covers. Noah lifted the covers and crawled into bed and curled up next to her. He has seen her like this before. Usually when she's stressed out or her depression or her anxiety are getting worse for her. It happens after work and she curls up under the covers and doesn't move until the next day. He doesn't blame her. He mostly curls up next to her and feeds her in bed when she wants to.

"Wanna talk about it?" he questioned.

She stared at him and took a deep breath.

"I had to deal with kids today. I know I would like them one day, but…"

Noah didn't allow her to finish. He knows the answer already. The two wanted children for over a year now and have been unsuccessful. It turns out that Sally has polycystic ovarian syndrome, meaning that it's difficult for her to get pregnant. They were offered the option of adoption and they haven't gotten a word back from the adoption agency. He kissed the top of her head and motioned for her to curl up against him.

Sally curled up against him and Noah held her close to his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and attempted to comfort her.

"It's not just the kids. The parents are the worst. They think that their child is the smartest child in the library. I had a parent come up to me and say that their child would be going to Stanford when he gets older, when that same child told me he wanted to be a car when he grows older," Sally explained.

Noah wanted to laugh. He let out a chortle and buried his face in her hair. He could feel Sally laughing along with him.

"I feel so frustrated because I caught a child chewing on a book and a parent said that it wasn't her, when I clearly saw her chewing on it with my own two eyes. There are times when I'm glad I don't have children sometimes," she said.

"That's why we're adopting a child at the age of eight, so we skip all of that," Noah commented.

He heard Sally agreeing to his statement. They stayed silent for a while with him holding her close to his chest. The silence was comfortable and relaxing for the both of them.

"Do you want me to order some food?" Noah asked.

"Please? I would like some Jack in the Box. While you do that, I'll start a movie," Sally said.

Noah agreed and began to use his phone to order some food. He laid back down and held Sally in his arms until their food arrived. For now, it was a comfortable silence in their own little world.


	7. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Storm
> 
> A storm has started and Sally just remembered that she's terrified of storms.

Sally hated storms. She heard the loud thunder and whimpered against the couch. She felt Noah's arm tighten around her and held her close to his chest. She loved the rain. She absolutely adored it because it meant she could cuddle up with some blankets on the couch with her partner laying beside her and watching crappy movies.

She absolutely does not like it when the power goes out because of heavy rainfall and loud thunder almost on top of their house. She squeezed her eyes shut when she heard another loud thunder go by. She could feel Noah kissing the top of her head, which was nice.

"Do you want me to carry you to bed?" he asked her.

She nodded her head. Their leftover food was now forgotten and Noah would probably put them away before the ants got to them. It was mostly wings that they ordered from WingStop in the hopes of eating some comfort food. Right now, Sally was mostly just sleepy from eating too much food while Noah mostly ate the cheesy fries he ordered. She felt Noah lifting her up from the couch and taking her towards their room and laid her on the bed.

"Cuddle with me?" she requested.

"I have to put the food away in the dark. I'll be back, okay," he promised.

She watched his figure disappear behind the door and was left in the quiet and the dark. She always hated the quiet because it felt like there was no life. Thankfully, she could hear Noah moving around in the background. The dark was a different story. She remembered her mom always telling her horror stories to her and her siblings when they were growing up in the hopes of them falling asleep.

That didn't really work. Instead, it caused her to be too terrified of the dark and many years of therapy for the trauma.

She whimpered out when she heard the thunder booming around the house. She curled up tighter in her blankets and prayed to herself in Spanish for the thunder to go away. Or at least for the power to come back on. Soon, she felt another presence slip into bed with her. She tensed up, until she felt the familiar touch did she finally relax. She turned her body over to him and clutched onto him.

"I'm right here," he promised.

She looked up at him and kissed him softly to distract herself. She pulled away and stared at Noah, who looked down at her and held her close to him.

"Go to sleep, love. The storm will pass and when you wake up, we'll check on the power," Noah promised.

Sally only nodded her head. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. She hoped that the storm would pass once she gets up. For now, she's thankful that she had Noah to protect her against the storm.


	8. Ice Cream Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Sweet
> 
> Noah and Sally needed a date night. First ice cream, and then dinner.

It was one of those days where the sun is out and it's just warm enough to get some ice cream. Noah knew Sally was getting a little stir crazy, so it didn't surprise him when Sally requested the two get some ice cream, along with something to eat while they're out. So, he drove all the way down to Coldstone to get some ice cream first. Noah ordered one of their signature creations, which was the Cookie Doughn't You Want Some. It was a favorite of his and he wasn't changing it.

Sally, however, liked to make her own creations. It sometimes stays the same, but other times she would mix it up a bit. This time, she used the lemon sorbet ice cream and asked for peanut butter, marshmallows, gummy bears, and raspberries. Noah paid for both of their ice creams and stayed indoors to eat their ice cream in peace.

"Why don't you order something spontaneous?" Sally questioned.

He stared at the monstrosity that is her ice cream. It looked almost gross, but if Sally wanted to eat it, she'll eat it.

"My tastes are different than yours. I like routine," he told her.

The next thing he knew, a piece of Sally's ice cream was shoved in his face. Noah backed away and glared at his partner. She liked to do this, and to satisfy her whims, he went along with it at times. This time, however, he didn't want it.

"Come on, give it a taste!" she cutely requested. Noah couldn't resist her acting cute, but he had to.

"Sally, stop," he said.

She stopped and cutely pouted. She ate her ice cream in silence, until Noah finally broke.

"Fine, I'll try your weird combination of ice cream," Noah said.

Sally smiled brightly and presented her a piece of her ice cream to him. He took a bite and tasted the peanut butter and raspberries. It tasted weird.

"God, your taste in food is weird," Noah said.

"Yes, but you love me anyway," she pointed out.

He said nothing and only laughed. He continued to eat his ice cream and gave her some of his ice cream.

"Why can't you date someone your own race, China Man," someone commented.

Noah looked up and saw a tall latino man was standing over them. He looked over at Sally, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"And what, date you? No thanks," Sally answered.

"We're on a date. You're not invited," Noah stated.

"What, none of those China girls good enough for you so you steal one of ours?" the man questioned.

"First off, I'm not Chinese, I'm Korean," he explained. "Second, we're on a date right now. Please leave us alone."

"C'mon girl. You need to get rid of him. What makes him so special that you can't go to me?" the man asked.

"You're a stranger, I don't know you, I bet your wife over there will be pretty pissed if I decided to throw my arms around you," Sally pointed out.

Noah turned around and saw an angry looking Latina with her arms crossed over her chest. The man looked scared and glared at the two before he finally left Coldstone. The two ignored the interaction and went back to being cute before the man interrupted them.

"Where do you wanna eat?" Noah asked.

"You pick. I don't know what I'm craving yet," she answered.

Noah already knew the answer. "Sushi."

She nodded her head. The two finished their ice cream and made their way to a nearby sushi restaurant.


	9. Toys and Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Boat
> 
> Sally needs to find some gifts for her partner, Noah. Instead, she gets a bit annoyed at some of the retail workers.

The toy boat was a fascinating toy. Sally lifted the plastic toy boat up to inspect it and stared at it for several minutes. She could put candy in it and give it to Noah for Christmas. However, she knew that he didn't like boats in general. He never saw the point, since they don't live anywhere near water. She had to point out that he did live in Long Beach for a long time. She decided against it and placed the toy boat back on the stand.

"Do you need any help, ma'am?" one of the workers asked.

Sally felt a little scared. How was she going to explain that she was looking for a toy for her partner who's thirty-two years old?

"I'm good, thank you," Sally answered.

The worker gave her a polite smile and moved on. She looked back at the toy boat and decided to buy it anyway. She placed it in the cart and continued to look through the aisles and saw a couple of figurines and toys that Noah would like. She saw some Legos from various movies and shows that the two watched. She bought a few of them and continued to walk through the store. She made her way towards the Christmas area. Sally grabbed three wrapping papers, two ribbons, and some stickers that indicated who the gift was from.

"Hi, do you need any help?" another worker asked her.

"I'm good, thank you," she answered.

However, instead of leaving like the last worker did, she continued to talk to her. "Are these toys for your son?" she asked.

Sally didn't want to say no, that it's actually for her partner who enjoys childish things, but that was an appropriate answer.

"Somewhat," she answered.

"If you want, we have some kid wrapping paper around here," the worker offered.

"I'm good, thanks," Sally answered.

She wanted to be as far away from these retail workers as soon as possible. She wanted to get whatever she needed and finally leave. She finally got away and made her way towards the front of the store and placed all of the toys and Legos on the conveyor belt. She paid for her things and took everything in her car.

This was gonna be fun to wrap. The toy boat, however, was gonna be filled with Hershey's kisses and other chocolates inside and hang it on the tree. She hoped that none of her ornaments or the toy boat falls on the floor and breaks.

She also hopes that gravity will be on her side.


	10. Gotta Catch 'Em All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: stroll
> 
> Noah and Sally take a stroll through the park to catch some pokemon.

The air felt a little cleaner and the day was warmer than Noah thought. There were a few clouds in the sky, but it was still sunny. He felt Sally's fingers lace with his and the two strolled through the nearby park. They ignored everything around them in the park and took a leisure stroll.

"Oh hey, there's a Bulbasaur here," Sally commented.

Noah looked at his phone and clicked on the Bulbasaur that she talked about. He caught it easily and looked at the Pokémon that was around them. The park had plenty of them and he remembered Sally catching a shiny Charmander. He got so pissed at her, until he caught a shiny swablu and everything was okay.

"I think we've walked for twenty minutes so far," Noah pointed out.

He could feel his legs hurting a little bit, but he wanted to keep going. It was always a competition between the two to see who can last longer with Pokémon Go.

"I hatched a couple of Pokémon while we were walking. I got a togepi, a dratini, and an alolan vulpix. What did you get?" she asked him.

"Beldum, a shiny poochyena, and an elekid," Noah answered.

The two continued to walk. Finally, Sally gave up. She unlaced her fingers and took off the charger from her phone.

"Alright, I'm done. I'm ready to go home," she stated.

"And here I thought you wanted to keep strolling until you got a growlith," Noah pointed out.

"Yeah, but my legs are starting to hurt a little bit. There's a raid going on soon, so we can probably walk there real quick, and then head on home," Sally suggested.

Noah saw the raid and saw it was a four-tier raid. They could probably beat it if a few more people showed up. The two strolled towards the four-tier gym and saw it was an absol. He heard Sally squeal and jumping up and down. He wanted to laugh, but he knew that the absol was her favorite Pokémon in the game. And now it was time to battle.

They won, and somehow he got a shiny absol. Sally didn't speak to him for a few hours until he agreed to trade with her for her shiny shinx.


	11. Blanket Fort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: blanket
> 
> Sally makes a blanket fort because it's that type of day. Noah comes home with stress.

The blanket fort was almost perfect. Sally arranged the chairs and the couches to meet mostly in the corner. The blanket was hanging just over the couch and fairy lights were twinkling overhead. She placed the mini tv that she had inside and giggled to herself. The one thing she loved the most about the cold weather was the fact that she could set up her own blanket fort and her partner can't say shit about it.

Mostly because he also gets in the blanket fort with him.

She remembered last year where they bought a bunch of boxes from Home Depot because they were moving and created a castle fort in their own home. That was a fun day, considering that Noah got into major trouble with one of the chefs at work. She hoped that he could open his own restaurant like he dreamed, or at least become head chef where he works since he does like it so much.

Suddenly, she heard the door open. She poked her head up and saw Noah freezing at the door. Sally smiled widely and presented the new blanket fort she created.

"Tadah! It's our new blanket fort! Complete with fairy lights, books for reading pleasure, and a mini television so we can watch Netflix and some of our recorded shows," Sally introduced.

She didn't noticed Noah coming up to her and hugging her from behind. She peaked over her shoulder and she saw that he didn't look too good. He looked exhausted and wanted to sleep for the next twenty years.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked him.

She felt him shook his head. She sighed to herself and gently patted his arm. She nudged him off and motioned for him to enter the blanket fort.

"Come on! Into the fort! I'll make us some hot chocolate and get the burner out. We'll have a mini campfire going," she promised.

Noah entered the fort with ease. Sally walked back into the kitchen and began to get the hot chocolate ready. While that was going, she grabbed one of the smores kits she has and walked back to the blanket fort where she saw Noah bundled up with a blanket over his body. She had to admit, he looked almost adorable.

"I got the kit ready. Plug it in and roast some marshmallows," she told him.

She set the smores kit down and walked back into the kitchen. The hot chocolate was ready and she grabbed two mugs. One mug had Winnie the Pooh on it, while the other mug had Stitch on it. She poured each drink into each mug and took it back into the blanket fort. She handed the Stitch mug to Noah, who accepted it and began to put mini marshmallows inside. She sat next to him and was beginning to start a movie, until Noah stopped her.

"I just wanna sit close to you right now. No noise, no movement. Just us in this blanket fort," he requested.

Sally understood. She set the mini tv away and curled up against him. She took tiny sips of her hot chocolate and felt his heart beating against his chest.

"I wanna talk about it," Noah muttered.

"I'm all ears," Sally answered.

Noah situated himself and made himself a little more comfortable. He took a deep breath and Sally could hear the emotion in his voice.

"I got two call outs at work and one of our chefs quit because apparently cooking was not for him after all. So I'm stuck by myself with the sous chef, who basically does nothing anyway. He left halfway through the day and I was stuck without any help. I had people complain to me about how the food was taking too long. You would think the waiters and waitresses would tell them that there is only one chef doing the job and that's me. I had to call in people who were scheduled for a day off to work like four hours at least. Thankfully I got like three people to come in, but the owner blamed me for the slowness," Noah ranted.

Sally listened carefully and furrowed her eyes. She never liked the owner. He always flirted with her whenever she came around. Especially when she brought food for Noah on occasions where he texts her and asks for a lunch.

"But that's not your fault! Did you tell him what happened?" she asked him.

"I tried, but he wouldn't listen. He threatened to fire me if I ever pulled that stunt again. Jokes on him, I'm quitting soon anyway to start this new job at a fusion restaurant," Noah explained.

She remembered the offer. It was a friend of his who offered it to him. At first, he was going to be a regular chef, until the head chef saw his potential and promoted him to sous chef. He would be getting a better pay, better benefits, and it was closer to home. Sally closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You're going to do great, okay. Don't let that owner get you down. You have hot chocolate, smores, and me. Never forget that, okay," Sally comforted.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Noah bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. She liked this feeling. It made her feel loved and appreciated. For now, they were going to stay in this blanket fort until the sun rose and the two need to get to work in the morning.


	12. Midnight Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Night
> 
> Noah can't sleep because of constant worries. Sally decides to talk to him.

Noah can't sleep again. This is the third night this week that he laid in bed wide awake. He looked over at Sally, who's sleeping peacefully on her side of the bed. He sits up straight and stares at the wall for a few minutes before he finally decides to get up. It's almost three in the morning. His job doesn't start until another five hours at most. He groaned to himself and rubbed his eyes with frustration.

"Noah?" he heard Sally softly call out.

He looked over at her and saw she was barely awake. Her eyes were squinting in the dark and trying to adjust. He felt bad. She doesn't get up too early in the morning unless she does her usual morning walk to keep herself awake. He always thought she was weird for doing that, but he doesn't judge. She doesn't judge him for drinking out of the coffee pot, so he doesn't judge her for waking up at almost six in the morning to walk.

"Go back to sleep," he tells her.

"I will if you go back to sleep, too," she tells him.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." _Lie_.

Sally sits up and turns on the light. She grabs her glasses and rubs her eyes awake. It's rare to see her wear glasses. He forgets she has them. She usually wears contacts during the day because she wants to.

"I know you haven't been sleeping for a while. What's going on?" she asked him.

They made a rule with one another to always talk to one another, no matter what the circumstances were. He didn't want to dump all of his feelings to her because that wasn't fair, but he also knew if he didn't, he'll have a mental breakdown in the bathroom.

"I don't know. I'm kind of scared for our future, I guess. Our lease is coming up and we have the option of either buying this house that we've lived in for two years or find some other home far away from us. I'm starting a new job soon and it's crazy to know where I was five years ago. I'm scared that we won't have enough money for this house or the owner decides to change their mind and we'll be homeless living in weird and strange motels for who knows how long. I sometimes think if we're making the right decision with our careers at times. Mine, mostly," Noah voiced out.

He looked over at Sally, who stared at him intently and let out a sigh.

"I know the feeling. I get those fears, too, but life is strange as it is. We won't know where we'll end up in another five years. Maybe I'll take over Rhonda's job and become the head librarian, or maybe I'll leave the job at the library I'm at and work at the LA County Library. Maybe I'll get pregnant and we'll have a bunch of kids, or I don't and we get approved to adopt a child of our own, or maybe we don't. Life is full of ifs and maybes. We won't know what we'll have in the future until we continue to live now in the present. Until then, you don't have to hide your worries from me," Sally assured him.

Noah let out a sigh of relief. He remembered that the two of them are a team and shouldn't have to continue to keep secrets from another. That happened once and it was disastrous. He laid back down in the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you," he admitted to Sally.

Sally looked up at him and smiled tiredly. "I love you, too. And if you wake me up with your constant worrying again, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Noah remembered that and finally drifted off it sleep.


	13. Art Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Art
> 
> Sally is home alone and she decides to take the opportunity to work on her art piece.

The one-time Sally ever has a day off from work and Noah is still working at his own job is the day that she starts working on her own artwork.

Before decided to become a librarian and working to get her master's degree in library science, she actually wanted to be an artist. She did all her GED in community college and talked with her counselor about what she needed to do to work towards her goal to become a librarian. It wasn't until her second year in the spring semester in community college did she apply for the job as a librarian at her college library and found out she loved books. She wanted to help people find the book they were looking for. She liked organization and she especially loved ordering books for people who wanted the specific book, but wasn't in the shelves yet.

So, she changed her major to Library Science and applied to a few more colleges before being accepted to Cal State LA because it was closer to home and she could take the train easily to and from the campus.

However, she still loved art and would occasionally work on her artwork to sell later on. She's still rusty in painting, but people love them either way. Today, she was painting a galaxy with several planets orbiting a purplish sun. It was her own imagination and story she wanted to work with for the piece and was glad she was alone. Sally started the piece back in August and was barely done with it. Each time she has a day off and doesn't have anything planned, she usually paints the background first and then starts on the planets.

Today, she's working on her eighth planet. She was thinking of a dark blue planet with a spray of light purple to make the colors really pop, and then white stripes around the planet. She's debating on whether or not to give this one rings. She already gave planet numbers three and six rings, but she has like ten planets to paint. She decided against it and continued to paint the eighth planet.

"Sally? You home?" she heard Noah call out.

Sally looked at the clock. He was home early. That wasn't good. She set her paintbrush down and walked to the front room. Noah stared at her and her attire. She was wearing her old college sweatshirt covered in paint, a pair of denim jean shorts, and walking around barefoot. Her hair was tied in a messy bun and wearing her glasses.

"Your home early," she commented.

"Boss was sending people home because, and I quote, 'Can't stand to look at everyone right now. Go the fuck home.' Needless to say, I know where I stand with him," he replied.

"Well, that sucks. Wanna see what I'm working on?" she asked him.

Noah knew about her secret project and always wanted to see what she was working on. She showed him bits and pieces, but it was barely enough to get the full picture. He nodded his head and followed Sally towards the extra room that they have. She walked over to her easel and grabbed one of the paintbrushes.

"Holy shit," she heard him gasp.

She turned her head and smiled when she saw how memorized he looked at staring at the painting. The colors differed from planet to planet and complimented one another well. In the center was supposed to be the sun, but it hasn't been painted yet.

"What do you plan to do with it?" Noah asked her.

"Probably sell it online. Some publishing company is gonna need book covers for their weird sci-fi books. Might as well get paid for it," Sally answered.

Usually her artworks are on a whim. She'll start working on it if she has some idea and it takes her a couple of months to finish. She put one finishing touch on her eighth planet and was satisfied with what she did.

"I wonder if I can work on the ninth planet. I bet it'll look cool being yellow with red tiger stripes," Sally muttered.

"I bet it will. If you can, you need to put moons on some planets. Maybe small rocks floating around?" Noah suggested.

"I was debating on that, but I felt like it was too cluttered. I can do it for some planets, though. I'll keep that comment in mind."

Noah left the room and allowed Sally to work on her painting. He needed to get dinner ready anyway. Hopefully she'll be done before dinner is ready to be served.


	14. Present Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Train
> 
> Noah takes a train down Koreatown and tries to find some inspiration to get Sally for Christmas.

The train ride to downtown was an eventful ride. Noah needed to get to Downtown LA to head to Koreatown. He needed to find something for Sally for Christmas and he kind of accidentally placed it to the last minute. Thankfully, he knows his partner very well and knows for a fact that Sally likes cute shit and kittens. He hoped he could find something there.

He laid back and let the train ride take him on this journey. They asked for his ticket once, and then never again. He would still keep it just in case they ask again. Finally, the train stopped at Union Station. He immediately got off and began to look through his phone and it told him to take the purple line. He ran his fingers through his long hair and thought that he needed to get that cut soon.

Noah walked down the stairs and made his way towards the purple line subway and waited. His phone said to go to Western Station, so that's what he planned to do. After several minutes of waiting, the subway train arrived. He quickly got in and found a seat easily. He rested against the seat and waited for the Western Station to be announced. It only took a couple of minutes before the subway finally arrived at his destination.

Noah left the subway station and found himself almost at home. It's been a long time since he's been to Koreatown, but most things still stayed the same. He entered the plaza and saw many different shops and restaurants available and people came and went. He looked around and saw many stores with cute stuff inside, but it was almost kidish. He didn't wanna baby Sally. He wanted to show that he cared for her and knew her interests well. He continued to walk around and saw an art studio a couple of feet away from him. He entered inside and got her a few sketch books and some water colored paints.

After a couple of hours later and spending hundreds of dollars on not just Sally, but also on his older sisters and his parents, he was ready to go home. So far, he only got his partner the sketchbook. He wanted to get her something more than just a sketchbook. He sat down on one of the benches and looked around. He didn't really have a set idea of what he wanted to get Sally. Knowing her, she probably got him about fifty presents from some store he's never heard of. He wanted to wow her. To surprise her and not be so predictable.

Then a plan began to hit. He saw a pet store by the window and mostly saw dogs. Noah entered inside and saw a small selection on kittens, but many of them were already adopted or are gone already. He pouted to himself, but remembered the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter and thought about how those kittens wanted to be adopted just as much as these kittens. So he began to get to work. He brought out his phone and began to look at the different kittens and cats on their website. Most of them were black cats, but he needed to go down there himself to figure out what he wanted.

Noah left the pet store and went back into the kidish store he saw earlier and bought a bunch of cat related items. Tomorrow he's going to need to head on down to the animal shelter and look at the cats there to see which one he would prefer. Or, to put it more accurately, which one Sally would like.

He got back on the subway, back on the train, and made his way home. A plan was finally starting to form.


	15. Animal Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rescue
> 
> Noah visits the nearby animal shelter in hopes to find a Christmas present for Sally.

Noah had to sneak out of the house again. Thankfully, Sally was visiting some friends for some get together that would last almost all day. He stopped by the animal shelter and could already hear the dogs barking. Some people were already in line with a piece of paper in hand for an animal they were ready to adopt. Noah parked his car and got out. He walked through the front door and made his way towards the cat section. He noted that there weren't too many options. Many of the cats were already adopted. He saw some younger looking cats, but there were hardly any older cats.

Something in him hoped that they were adopted.

He shook the thought from his head and began to look through the cats. He wanted a pair, because he remembered Sally talking about wanted two cats so they wouldn't get bored from one another. He looked at the different kittens and couldn't decide on which ones he wanted. Or needed, most likely. Noah walked back and forth through the cages and saw a cat practically screaming at him.

He bent down and stared at the kitten in general. The kitten was female and was about a year old. The kitten was a black cat with a patch of white fur on her chest. He looked deeper into the cage and saw another kitten inside. This kitten was a gray kitten with black legs and looked almost shy. Noah looked at the names and saw that the female kitten must be paired with the gray kitten.

He found the kittens that he wanted to take home.

Noah took a picture of the number and went to get in line with the others. If anything, this would be an incredibly early Christmas present for Sally if he doesn't play his cards right. He needed to find a way to make sure that Sally doesn't see the kittens at all. He got in line and waited patiently.

After a few hours of waiting, Noah was finally next. He walked up to the receptionist and smiled politely.

"Hi, I would like to adopt these two kittens," Noah announced.

He showed the picture of the number and the receptionist wrote down the number.

"Any history with pets?" she asked him.

"I've had cats before when I was a kid. And a few fishes," he answered.

She typed something on her computer. She gave him a clipboard with a couple of more information that he needed to fill out. He filled out his name, his address, and whatever other information that they needed. He signed at the bottom and handed the board back to the receptionist. The lady typed all the information down and made a hum at the back of her throat.

"Okay, so we do need to do a background check on you. It can take a few days, but we will call you to tell you about the kittens," the receptionist explained.

"Will it happen before Christmas?" Noah asked.

"There is a possibility it will. Like I said, we will call you once your background check is cleared," she answered.

Noah only nodded his head. He was glad he placed his cell phone number on the application and left the animal shelter. He needed to buy some cat supplies for the two new kittens and hoped that Sally won't question anything.


	16. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rest
> 
> Sally wakes up feeling a little under the weather.

Sally could feel how dry her throat was. She let out a series of coughs and tried to breath through her nose. She groaned to herself. Her nose was plugged with mucus. She was getting sick. She hated this feeling. The holidays were slowly approaching, and she still had to think of a gift for Noah and make holiday cookies. She let out a sigh and finally got out of bed. She slowly walked out of her bedroom and went into the kitchen.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw a bunch of cookies and desserts laid on the counter. She looked at where the oven was and saw Noah bringing out a batch of cookies from the oven. He set the batch down on top of the oven and jumped when he saw Sally emerging into the kitchen.

"I thought you were still sleeping," Noah said.

"I had to make the holiday cookies and do Christmas shopping. What are you doing?" Sally asked him.

Noah helped up a gingerbread cookie in the shape of a kitten and held it up to her. She had to admit, it was pretty damn cute.

"I knew you were getting sick, so I took care of the holiday sweets. I made gingerbread animals, snickerdoodles, some of those cookies with kisses in the center, and I even made some snowballs," Noah said.

Sally looked around the entire room and was amazed by the assortment of cookies. He must have been up for hours. She could hear her playlist being played at the lowest setting possible, but still filled the house with some sort of noise. She looked at the clock and saw it was almost three in the afternoon.

"I slept for over twelve hours?" she gaped.

"It's your day off, so you're fine. But tomorrow, you do need to call off work so you can get better. For now, I need to get your dinner ready. You probably didn't get to eat since you've been in a coma for a while. Now go on the couch and I'll put the cookies away," he told her.

"But-"

"You're gonna get your cooties all over it! Now go! Away," Noah ordered.

Sally pouted, but did as she was told. She sat on the couch and rested her body on the couch. She curled up against the cushions and felt her aching body resting. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep. She only woke up when she felt Noah shaking her awake. She looked up and saw a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of her. She sat up and wrapped the blankets around her. She took small sips, but ate the entire thing.

"After your done, I need to get you some Nyquil. And then it's back to bed with you," he told her.

"But I wasted the entire day away. I hate being sick," she muttered. Her voice sounded thick and deep.

"I know, but we need to get you better. Usually once you eat the soup and drink some Nyquil, your body is back stronger than ever! Now don't pout. We'll watch a movie before you go to bed," Noah told her.

Noah sat down on the couch next to her. Sally saw that he switch it to Netflix and began to look for a movie to watch. He settled on Home Alone and the two watched. Sally decided to take her Nyquil halfway through the movie because she knows for a fact that she was going to sleep through it.

About towards the end of the movie, Sally fell asleep on Noah's shoulder. At least she was right about something.


	17. Clingy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Quiz
> 
> Sally calls in sick and stays home alone for the day.

The next day, just like she promised, she called the library and told them that she wasn't going to be able to come in today. She could feel herself growing a bit weaker, but she didn't want to spend all day in her room. She got up, wrapped the blankets around her, and went into the living room and rested. Noah was already at work and Sally was already growing bored. Her friends were probably at work, her mom was busy preparing the tamales for Christmas Eve, and her siblings have their own lives to deal with.

Sally turned on the tv and put it on one of her Jeopardy recordings that she hasn't gotten around to watching. It was the only quiz show she could stand at this point. It only dealt with intellect and questions as answers. It was also the only game show she was good at. Some of the questions were difficult, but other questions she could answer with ease.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her cell phone began to ring. She saw that it was Vanessa, her oldest and longest friend that she's had. She pressed the green button and placed the phone to her ear.

"'Ello?" Sally answered. She could hear herself almost losing her voice.

"Holy shit, you sound worse than yesterday," she heard Vanessa comment.

"And how would you know? You weren't here yesterday," she told her.

"Noah told me. He also said that you need to eat your soup, take your medicine, and rest," she answered.

"Is he there?" she hopefully asked.

During her time when she's sick, Sally realized she becomes overly clingy and needy. She never had that experience with her past partners, but it seemed that she only wanted to do that with Noah. He seemed to like the attention, until later on when he gets sick.

"He said he'll be home sooner than you think. Until then, take care of yourself."

That wasn't an answer. She could hear people chattering in the background and Noah's laughter echoed throughout the area. She wanted to so badly cuddle with her partner. However, she did need to take care of herself. She got up from her spot on the couch and went to make herself some chicken noodle soup. She's done this without Noah before. It shouldn't be that hard.

After making her soup and placing a shot of Dayquil next to her soup, she ate in silence and continued to watch Jeopardy. It got to the part where they were doing the last question when she finished her soup and took her medicine. She leaned against the couch and waited for the medication to kick in. After the fifth recording, she began to fall asleep on the couch.

The next thing she knew, she was being carried across the living room and into her own room. She looked up and saw Noah carefully carrying her into their room. He set her down on the bed and tucked her in. Before he could leave, she grabbed his arm and whined.

"Stay with me," Sally begged.

"I need to get your medicine. I'll be right back," he promised.

Sally pouted, but let go of his arm either way. She nestled under the covers and waited for Noah to come back. It only took a few minutes when he came back into the room and gave her a shot of Nyquil. She drank the whole think and grimaced when she bitter aftertaste lingered in her throat. He was about to leave again, until Sally grabbed his arm one more time.

"Cuddle with me?" she begged again.

He let out a sigh, but agreed. He set the cup down and walked to his side of the bed. There was still a hint of light out, but Sally wanted to cling onto her partner and hope that just his presence will allow her to be all right again. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep once more.


	18. Hang Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Film
> 
> Sally and Noah decided to have some couple time and watched some movies.

Sally was getting better, Noah was starting to notice. She was still sick, but she mostly wanted to stay inside. She called into work again and called in sick. Noah noted that Sally looked sad about this, but he decided to host a small movie day for the two of them. He grabbed some blankets, some movies that he rented at a red box next to the 7-11, and some snacks he bought at the 7-11.

"What are we watching?" Sally asked him.

Noah showed her some of the movies he picked. He picked out Venom, Crazy Rich Asians, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Christopher Robin. She picked up the Nightmare Before Christmas movie and handed it to him.

"You want to watch that first?" Noah asked her.

She nodded her head. He turned the tv on switched it over to the DVD portion. He slipped the DVD inside and closed the CD-ROM. He heard the music begin to play and he sat back on the couch. He wrapped Sally in a blanket like a burrito. He handed the chocolate covered pretzels to her and she slowly began to eat them.

Soon after, he saw the day slowly go by. The movies were entertaining, and he saw Sally almost falling asleep during one of the movies. She blinked her eyes open and continued to watch the movie.

"You okay?" he asked her.

She looked over at him and smiled softly. She nodded her head and took another bite of her chocolate covered pretzels. He grabbed another bag of chocolate covered pretzels and handed the bag to her. She grabbed the bag and tore it open.

"Please remember that you're still recovering," he reminded her.

"I know," she said with food in her mouth. "But chocolate makes me better."

Noah stared at her, but said nothing. He saw that Christopher Robin was ending and decided to put in the movie Venom. It was the last movie and before he could close the disk, he heard a knock on the door. The two both looked up, and then stared at one another. He didn't know anybody that would be coming over, and Sally didn't know anybody either. He got up from the couch and went over to open the door. He opened the door and saw Luca and Caroline at the door, smiling at him.

"Hi! We came for Christmas dinner!" Luca announced.

Noah froze. When did they arrange this? He looked over at Sally, who looked just as confused. He turned back his attention to Luca and Caroline, who had Vanessa and Lola right behind them.

"I think you have the wrong date-"

"We discussed this yesterday. Remember? We said that it'll be fun if we all got together and hang out," Luca reminded.

Noah tried to remember, and then remembered the conversation yesterday with Vanessa. He said it as a joke. They mostly had Christmas dinners on the 26th.

"See, we didn't prepare anything at all," Noah admitted.

"That's okay, we knew you would forget, so we brought food along!" Caroline admitted.

Noah finally noticed the containers of tinfoil and everybody entered inside. Anna and Fritz came right behind Vanessa and Lola.

"Why would you be here? We're gonna be seeing one another on the 25th anyway," Sally asked her twin brother, Luca.

"Yeah, but this is more fun. Besides, it's nice to see my baby sister with the sniffles," Luca teased.

Sally rolled her eyes. She got up from the couch and began to set up the table. Noah helped with the table and began to clean up the living room. He felt Luca tugging him away and followed him into another room.

"Were you able to get the cat for Sally?" Luca asked him.

"They haven't called me yet. I have some background check that they need to go through. Also, I'm adopting two kittens," Noah corrected.

Luca said nothing. "Good luck with that."

He soon left Noah alone and walked back into the kitchen to help set up. Noah followed him back into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Sally's waist. He felt her hands being placed on his arms and smiled up at him.

"What's that for?" she asked him.

"I just love you, that's all," he told her.

He gently kissed her neck, then her cheek, and then finally her lips.

"I know this is your house, but you do have guests here," he heard Anna comment.

Noah said nothing. He finally helped everybody else out until they sat down and began to eat.


	19. More Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Plant
> 
> Sally goes holiday shopping once she starts to feel better.

Sally was feeling all better now. Finally, she was able to go to a store and buy whatever she needed for Christmas shopping. She went through several stores and already got gifts for her siblings and her friends. Now she needed to find a gift for Noah.

This was the part that frustrated her the most.

She didn't like to buy him any kitchen accessories because she knows he already has them. Thankfully she knows his hobbies and knows he likes gardening his own food, but she feels like that's a bit cheap. She didn't like to buy him stuff that he could buy on his own. She wanted to create something out of the thing he likes. Plus, she's pretty sure that plants will die if she decided to wrap it.

Then she scraped the plant idea and decided to try something else.

Sally walked around the store and tried to think of something he could want. She stared at everything around her and saw something that looked entertaining for both him and herself, but also something essential for the house.

Sally remembered Noah mentioning that they needed a new coffee machine because the old one didn't heat the coffee up right nor did it brew the coffee. She stared at the coffee machine and saw that not only does it give hot coffee for Noah, but also cold coffee for herself. She grabbed the coffee machine and set it inside the cart. She began to move on and see what she can get for her partner.

The she saw something new and wonderful. It's mostly a plant holder that she's seen on Instagram by a couple of girls who liked the aesthetic. She knows Noah likes aesthetic stuff, so it was perfect. It was one of those geometrical shaped plant holders that held succulents and other types of plants. She knew it would be perfect for her partner. She placed it inside the cart and continued shopping.

After an hour of shopping around, she decided to check out before she sees something that might be useless for Noah. She got in line at the checkout station and set her things on top of the conveyor belt. The cashier scanned her stuff and then Sally placed it back in the basket. She paid for her items and finally left. It was time to start wrapping now.

Sally hated wrapping, but she needs to suck it up and start either way. Besides, Noah wasn't home and it was the perfect way to secretly wrap her Christmas presents without him barging into the house and seeing what is waiting.


	20. Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Cooking
> 
> Noah loves to cook. He always loved to cook.

Noah always loved cooking. When he was a kid, his mother taught him to cook the traditional Korean dishes he grew up to love. His older sisters never liked cooking because they think that they would rather someone else cook for them then they cook for themselves. He didn't think of that. He found it rewarding whenever he cooked for himself. When he got older, he decided to make a career out of cooking and wanted to become a chef when once he finishes college.

He didn't get to become a chef of his own restaurant, but he's still cooking at a nice restaurant. Even though the owner is an asshole and refuses to pay them on time. He quit the job soon enough and found another job with a friend of his and actually likes his job.

However, when he gets home, Sally cooks for him. Noah commented that she didn't have to cook because he cooks for a living. She stated that's the exact reason why she's cooking in the first place. Due to learning how to cook Sally's Mexican styled cooking, he combined the Korean and the Mexican cuisines and made a fusion of some of the foods. Mostly meat covered in Korean sauce that his mother taught him to make.

"Noah? You okay in there?" he heard Sally call out.

Noah snapped out of his daydream and saw that his shrimp was still cooking. He sprinkled some seasoning onto the shrimp and continued to cook.

"Want me to make the shells?" she asked him.

"If you want? Can you also make the rice for me? I can't seem to get the Mexican rice perfect enough," he requested.

Sally did as she asked and began to make the Mexican rice and the hard taco shells from the corn tortillas. Noah finished making Korean and Mexican fusion shrimp tacos and placed some of the meat into the tacos shells. Sally placed the rice and salad onto the plate and the two made their way towards the dining room table. Noah was about to sit down, until Sally stopped him and kissed him on the lips.

"What was that for?" he asked her.

She pointed up at the doorway and saw a mistletoe hanging on the door frame. He almost wanted to laugh. He pulled her close to him and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away and the two sit down and enjoyed their one time meal together. Dinner is the only time the two ate together besides the occasional lunch where Sally surprised him by dropping by at his job and the two of them eating lunch.

Noah loved to cook. He especially loves to cook whenever Sally cooks with him.


	21. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Light
> 
> Noah gets a call from the shelter and goes to pick up the new kittens.

Noah finally got the call from the animal shelter. They said that they viewed his background and he was good to adopt them. He called off work for the day, faking some illness about why he can't come into work. He got in his car and made his way towards the animal shelter.

The shelter was a lot busier than he thought it would be. There were so many people ready to adopt their new furry friend. There was one couple who he talked with that they were adopting a bunny rabbit for their daughter and themselves, since they've wanted a pet rabbit for who knew how long. Noah was next in line and one of the volunteer workers brought in a carrier that was big enough to fit in two kittens.

"Hey little ones," Noah cooed.

Noah paid the adoption fees, as well as whatever other fees he had to pay along with a licensing fee, and left the shelter. He gently placed them inside the car and could automatically hear one of them crying.

"I know, little ones, I know, but mommy is going to be so happy to meet you all. For now, you'll have to stay with auntie until Christmas day," Noah told them.

He began to drive towards his older sister, Selene's house, and hoped that her and her husband won't mind letting the kittens stay for a bit until Christmas. Well, he did text Selene to warn her, so he guessed he was okay for now. He drove towards where Selene lived and parked his car in front of the driveway.

Noah got out of the car and walked towards the front door of Selene's house. She opened the door and hugged him tightly.

"Aw, my baby brother got a new pet," she cooed.

"Yeah, yeah. I do need them to stay here until Christmas day at least," he said.

"Them?" she questioned.

Noah went back to his car and grabbed the carried that held the two kittens inside. Selene cooed at the small kittens inside the carrier. The black kitten swatted at the finger as if she was playing.

"I hope your husband isn't allergic to cats," Noah hoped.

"I mean, he is, but these kittens are so cute that I'm sure he's willing enough to suffer to keep these kittens here until Christmas," Selene said.

He had to remember that his sister is very diabolical. He still remembered during Christmas when his sisters convinced him to put Christmas lights on him to pretend he was a tree. His parents found out and untangled him from the lights and ornaments that decorated his clothes. He shook his head and entered inside Selene's home. Inside was the brightest tree he ever saw, with three different types of lights on the trees and several colors of ornaments handing on the tree.

Selene set the carrier down and opened the door for the kittens to look around the house. Noah may have to do that when he takes them home on Christmas day to look around the house. He wanted to give the kittens to Sally early, but the gifts he bought for her would be mostly dumb and wouldn't make too much sense.

"I'm trusting you to keep these kittens safe. Don't let Macy and Laura get too attached to them," Noah warned.

"I told them earlier that their uncle would be bringing kittens around, but they weren't for them no matter now much they begged. Besides, they would be getting a puppy for Christmas anyway," Selene promised.

That's what Noah was hoping for. He let the kittens get settled for the day. He gave his sister one last hug before he began to leave for the day. At least now he got his one big gift for Sally. Now it was time to wait. He left his sister's driveway and began to make his way home.


	22. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Space
> 
> Sally and Noah go on their monthly hike into the mountains to watch the stars.

Once a month, Noah takes Sally on some sort of hike to view the stars. Sally loves this time of month because she gets to watch Noah suffer.

"I fucking hate hiking," he complained.

"I told you ever month that you can just drive up here, but no! You're so insistent to just walk," she stated.

The only reason why Noah would even walk up a mountain with her was because her family did the exact same thing every month when she grew up. It was mostly to get away from the city and remember that the world is so much bigger than the rest of them. Sally loved those hikes because she got to watch the stars. Her favorite was every end of August when the meteor shower hit. When she was younger, she thought they were shooting stars.

"How much further?" she heard him ask through panted breaths.

"Actually, we're almost there," she assured him.

And they were. Sally remembered this spot particularly because it was where her and her siblings hung out the most when they got older. Now each sibling had their own time here whenever they can get away from the city.

"Should we set up camp here?" Noah asked.

"If you can get the tent up, sure," Sally challenged.

She already set her stuff down and began to get started on gathering wood and making a campfire. After an hour of making the fire, she turned her attention to Noah, who was still struggling on putting the tent up.

"You would think after years of coming up here, you would get the hang of it," she stated.

"Well excuse me for not coming out here since I was a child. My family and I stayed home and watched terrible dramas," Noah practically shouted out.

Sally ignored him and helped him set up the tent they would be staying in for a day. He never liked nature and honestly, that was okay. At least he was making an effort of even going on these hikes with him. No other partner of hers even wanted to go hiking with her to look up at the stars. Sometimes she would compromise and say they can even just drive up there, but they still wouldn't budge.

Noah was the only one to make the effort.

Sally saw that the sun was starting to go down. She saw the few stars that were twinkling already. She finished setting the tent up and Noah was already getting ready to get their meal going. She sat next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. She felt his arm wrap around her and held her close to him. She looked up at him and saw the concentration on his face as he was roasting the weenies on the campfire.

Then her mind began to drift. She could see herself spending the rest of her life with this man. She could also see herself getting married to him and having his children. She wondered if he would be offended if she pulled out a ring or something and asked him to marry her.

"You okay in there?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at Noah, who was only smiling softly at her.

"If you look up at the sky, you can see that it's a gorgeous night," he told her.

Sally looked up and saw all the stars in the galaxy hanging over the sky. The constellations that she learned when she was a child was hanging over them. She ignored her partner and began to tell each story she learned about each constellation, ignoring the fact that she already told him these stories before.

She didn't hear any complaints from him, so she assumes that he doesn't care, either.


	23. Phone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Phone
> 
> Sally gets a new addiction

One of the things Noah gets scared about is Sally getting an obsession over things. Pokemon Go is one of them.

The two of them have been playing since the game came out and have been catching all of the pokemon they can. The regionals are the harder ones to catch because it requires them to leave Los Angeles and travel somewhere else. And he is not about the life. Or that money.

"I got someone to trade with us for a carnivine," Sally announced.

Sally's new obsession was completing her pokedex.

"What are you trading him?" he asked her.

"The shiny ho-oh that I have," she admitted.

"Well thank the game you have like three shinies."

Sally said nothing as she continued to play on her phone. The two were at a nearby park, enjoying each other's company and eating their lunch that they bought at a pizza place. Noah is thankful that she can eat and play on her phone at the same time.

"Can we please have a conversation?" he requested.

She perked her head up and put her phone away. She almost looked embarrassed.

"I did it again, didn't I?" she questioned.

"A little," he answered.

She finally put her phone away and sat up a little straighter. The two finally had a conversation to the point where they gained a new inside joke. It involved Sally trying to pronounce a word and saying nothing except for a word that sounds not even close.


	24. Family Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Check
> 
> Sally hates hosting Christmas Eve at her house for obvious reasons.

Sally hated hosting Christmas Eve at her house. There were too many people and not enough places to eat. It sucked that she has a bigger family and Noah has a smaller family, but with combined families, it was like a bunch of clowns in her house.

"Sally, you're out of h'orderves," she heard her youngest sister, Becca, tell her.

She was starting to get annoyed. She looked around and saw Noah getting annoyed as well. She tried to remember why she was forced to host both families today. Her family wasn't so bad to hang out with. Having both families was a nightmare for her. Especially considering that her mother didn't know a slick of English and both of his parents spoke little English and switched to Korean whenever they felt like.

"Is dinner almost ready?" her older brother, Miguel, asked her.

"Ask Noah," she responded.

She was floating around the place, trying to make sure that everybody got something to drink and set more napkins down. She saw her elder brother, Gabriel, and his husband, Micah, were setting a game up and got a couple of people wanting to play with them. Sally decided to help Noah real quick, until she saw her and Noah's mother in the kitchen making food.

"Where's Noah?" Sally asked them.

"We took over," Noah's mother responded.

" _Poor boy is tired. We told him to go play some games_ ," her mother told her in Spanish.

Sally said nothing. She walked back to where they were setting up the game and saw a pair of headphones that would fit over someone's ears. She remembered those games in the past. It was Hearing Things and it was one of her favorite games to play.

"You playing?" Noah's older sister, Diana, asked her.

"Yeah, might as well," she answered.

The game went on for hours. They ate, of course, but her and Noah finally relaxed. After a couple of more hours of opening gifts and eating, everybody finally left. Sally sat back down on the couch and took a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" she heard Noah ask her.

"I'm fine," she answered. "The exhaustion is starting to take its toll on me."

She felt Noah sit next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She looked up and smiled tiredly at him. He gently kissed her lips and smiled at her.

"You did a good job today. I know our moms don't know English and couldn't hold a conversation, but they do understand one another's language somehow. They had fun cooking in the kitchen," he assured her.

"That's good! That means our mothers can talk shit about us," Sally stated.

Noah only laughed. Sally got up from the couch and started to head to bed.

"I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning," she told him.

"Good night, love," he said.

Sally waved goodnight and went to bed. She was exhausted and she needed to sleep. And sleep she got.


	25. Christmas Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Pet
> 
> Sally gets the best Christmas surprise yet.

Sally woke up to the sun shining in her eyes. She looked over at her clock and saw that it was almost eight in the morning. She groaned to herself and rolled over. She tried to feel Noah's body warmth against hers, but realized his side of the bed was empty. She sat up and looked around. He couldn't have gotten that far. She rolled over and began to put on one of her university sweatshirts over her tank top and a pair of pajama bottoms over her shorts. She yawned and made her way towards the living room where she knows Noah would be.

She was right when she saw him arranging the presents in some intricate pattern that she couldn't be bothered to understand.

"Morning," she greeted.

Noah popped his head up and smiled brightly at her. "Merry Christmas, love."

He opened his arms wide and hugged her tight. She only laughed and hugged him back, taking in his scent. He smelled like chocolate and marshmallows.

"I got a surprise for you," he told her.

She stared at him with foggy eyes. She was still trying to wake up and Noah giving her a surprise was not something she expected. However, he soon gave her a cup of tea and she gently blew at the steam before taking small sips.

"I want you to open my gifts first," he told her.

"One at a time or-"

"All at once," he interrupted.

Now something was fishy. She set her cup of tea down and began to open her presents one by one. Some of it was cute, like a sweater with an opening on the pouch where the cat can go, a new mug with a smart kitty on it, and an umbreon stuffed plush. But then her gifts started to get a little stranger. She opened one of her gifts and it was a litter box, which was strange because they don't have a cat. Yet. She made it a goal for next year to adopt a kitten.

The next two gifts were scratching posts and toys for cats. Sally furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Noah in question.

And then suddenly, she heard a meow.

She gasped and immediately stood up. She tried to find the sound of the kittens again. She found the source by finding a huge box behind the tree. She carefully grabbed it and pulled it closer to her. She opened the top part and saw two kittens inside. One was a black kitten with a patch of white fur on her chest, and another was a gray kitten with black legs that almost looked like stockings. They were meowing and looked up at her in question. Sally wanted to cry. She gently picked up both kittens and placed them against her chest.

"They're so precious," she whispered to her partner.

"Do you like them?" she heard Noah ask her.

"Like them? I love them! Where did you place them at?" she asked him.

"I had them stay at Selene's house for a while until Christmas got closer. I got up earlier to pick them up from her house," he answered.

Sally could feel the kittens purring against her chest. The gray kitten already fell asleep against her chest, but the black kitten was wide awake and pawing at her face. She mostly laughed, but tried to make sure that neither kitten was afraid of her.

"I think they like you," Noah pointed out.

"Now my Christmas gifts are gonna look like shit," Sally commented.

"I'm sure whatever you got me I would love either way," he said as he gently pecked her lips.

He opened his own gifts and got excited by each one he got. He especially loved the geometric plant holder. After everything was settled and the black kitten settled onto the couch, while the gray kitten was still sleeping on Sally's chest, she realized she needed to name them.

"God, I don't know what to name these sweeties," she said.

Noah looked up and took a few pictures of the new kittens that were laying all over the place. Sally looked at the gray kitten first. The kitten looked almost annoyed, but gently patted on Sally's face.

"I'm naming this one Absol," she declared.

Absol is and will always be her favorite pokemon, so naming the kitten her favorite pokemon was fitting.

"If you're naming him Absol, then I get to name the black kitten my favorite pokemon," Noah stated.

"You're naming the black kitten Gengar? Really?" she questioned.

"Yes I am because it's a perfect name," he commented.

She rolled her eyes, but she allowed it anyway. Gengar and Absol. It sounded pleasant and nice. She gently petted Gengar under her chin and around her head. Absol was getting jealous and wanted to be petted, too. She gently petted Absol and smiled at how easily she purred into her arms.

Best Christmas gifts yet.


	26. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Song
> 
> Noah decides that it's time to ask Sally the question he needed to ask.

Noah set everything up as he could. He knows Sally should be home any minute now because they're usually closed on New Year's Eve. He lit the last candle and allowed the scent to waft throughout the room. He was careful with the flowers in the room and made sure that the champagne bottles in ice.

"Noah, I'm home!" he heard Sally call out.

He stood up straight and turned the stereo on. It was a slow song, but it was a song that they both liked. Sally appeared in the room and stared at what was in front of her. He held his hand out to her and she hesitantly accepted it.

"What's this?" she asked him.

"It's the New Year. I think it would be nice if we have this first and last dance with one another," he explained.

She only laughed. The two slow danced with one another and he placed her head against his chest. Soon, the song began to change. It's a song that Noah made himself. The guitars began to play in the background.

" _Wise men say_

_Only fools rush in._

_But I can't help falling in love with you._

" _Shall I stay?_

_Would it be a sin?_

_If I can't help falling in love with you?_ "

Sally finally looked up at him. She gently kissed his lips and continued to dance with him with the music.

" _Like a river flows._

_Surely to the sea._

_Darling, so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be._

" _Take my hand,_

_Take my whole life, too._

_For I can't help falling in love with you._ "

Noah could feel his heart beating against his chest. He thought of this for so long, but he was still nervous. They talked about it before in the past, but they never really thought much about the actual marriage.

" _Like a river flows,_

_Surely to the sea._

_Darling, so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be._

" _Take my hand,_

_Take my whole life, too._

_For I can't help falling in love with you._

_For I can't help falling in love with you._ "

The guitars finally ended in the background. Sally stopped dancing with him and looked at him. Noah bent down on one knee and heard her gasp.

"Sally, I don't know why you stayed with me for this long. Whatever it was that made you stay with me, please know that I've loved you for so long. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Whether you want to it on paper at a court or in front of a large group, I want us to be together until we get sick of one another. Sally Vasquez, will you do the honor of finally taking my last name and spending the rest of our lives together?" Noah asked.

He opened a velvet box and revealed a charm bracelet that revealed events of their lives together. He looked up at her and saw tears running down her face.

"God, I had things planned. But yes, dumbass. I'll marry you," she answered.

Noah finally stood up and clipped the bracelet on her wrist. He knows that she won't wear the bracelet a few days later, but it's nice to have.

"What did you have planned?" Noah asked her.

"I was going to propose in January with this photo album that you would keep. But now you've ruined the surprise," Sally explained.

Noah only laughed. He kissed her on the lips and held her close to his own body.

"Happy New Year, love," he said.

"Happy New Year. Also, I'm combining the names," she revealed.

Well, it was worth a try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKJaCPOwWSY
> 
> this song is what inspired that chapter. happy new year yall.


End file.
